Let’s be honest: unfortunately, industrial laundries still waste too much water. Too often, we see examples where more than 1.000.000 litres of water can be saved per year. Shockingly, that means that 1.000.000 litres of water is wasted in just one year. Allow yourself to let that sink in.
Luckily, collectively as an industry, we are growing more aware of the importance of cleaning ecologically. Our clients ask us how they can save more water and energy. With the technology of 2022, minor adjustments have tremendous results. And it doesn’t matter whether your washers are made by Girbau, IPSO, Tolon, Unimac or Kannegiesser… you too can clean greener easily.
Green Ambitions of the Industrial Laundry
Fortunately, awareness and green ambitions among laundries are growing. Partly as a result of incentives by the government, laundries and linen services are investing in a more environmentally-friendly cleaning process. We also noticed this when we connected a complete laundry to our Laundry Intelligence management information software and converted the washers with our in-house operating system, Smart Control. Since then, this laundry has saved water significantly.
Save 34% Water
A study by a Dutch research institute, TKT, showed that matching your machine’s water level to the actual load results in significant energy savings. The institute measures that water will be saved by 34% when loaded with 45 kg of linen in a 68 kg washer. There’s one condition though: the water needs to match the load. Unfortunately, this is not the case in reality; in fact, coordinating water and load is not possible with standard machine controls.
Mismatch of Load and Water
Take an open-end washer with a maximum load of 50 kg. In this case, the machine will always use a standard water level for 50 kg; the standard control does not take the actual load into account. This is fine, if you load your machine with 50 kg. However, we all know that is not always the case.
What if you need to clean less linen than the capacity, and load the machine with 20 kg of linen? Well, the same water for 50 KG linen will be used. Obviously, this is inefficient and irresponsible.
The Importance of Software in Cleaning Green
TKT reports that this discrepancy between load and water can only be straightened with the right software (read: control). That is exactly the purpose of Smart Control, the universal control for all industrial washers. With Smart Control you can easily tailor a cleaning program to your specific needs. The software is designed for an intuitive PLC from Schneider Electronic, which is easily equipped on the machine instead of the manufacturer software.
Universal Control for Girbau, Kannegiesser etc.
Users of washers equipped with Smart Control for Washers can determine the exact water use, dosage, duration and dosage. As a result, the organization not only uses a responsible amount of water, but also gas and electricity consumption are within borders. In other words: if you clean 30 KG of linen with a 60 KG machine, you can still ensure that exactly enough water is used.
The best part, Smart Control is a universal control. This means that you can install the software on your existing equipment, whether that’s a Unimac, Kannegiesser, Unica, IPSO or Girbau industrial washer.
Recognition of the Problem
Searching for solutions starts with the identification and acknowledgment of the problem. Laundry Intelligence was crafted for this purpose. With Laundry intelligence, the manager can see the exact consumption and costs on his smartphone, desktop and tablet. After each batch, he can precisely see what the total costs (including consumption and manpower) are. And if the washer or dryer consumes more resources than necessary, the manager receives a notification. The load can then be tailored to your load in Smart Control.
Start Saving Water Today
We’ve helped many clients clean more ecologically; we’re more than happy to assist you in your quest to save water and clean greener. Just reach out and we’ll get back you as soon as possible. Or feel free to browse around our website,and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to let us know.